Carla Shedd, Raul A. Reyes, Francine Sherman and Gregory Thomas discuss the roles of school resource officers (SRO) and School Administrators in wake of the incident in South Carolina, where a police officer dragged a student from her chair and arrested her.

It was a Monday morning at Spring Valley High School (South Carolina) and a female student was caught using her cellular phone during class and refused to put her phone aside. After a school administrator asked her to leave the class and she did not a School Resource Officer was called to remove her from the class. She refused and the incident was captured on multiple cell phone videos.

FACTS

The 16-year-old female student had recently been moved to a Foster Home after the death of her mother

The student's lawyer reported that incident caused the student neck and back injuries

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott fired deputy Ben Fields (SRO) for not following protocol when called to the classroom(The Washington Post reported Fields was fired for using excessive force during the arrest of a black female student in a math class at Spring Valley High School)

The SRO is appealing the charges

Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office in Columbia, S.C. have launched an investigation

Why didn't the school administrator provide the SRO with background about the student's recent loss?

What are the protocols at this school for both the Administrators and School Resource Officers during these type of classroom disruptions?

What is the difference between criminal actions and subjective events at school?

How does the administration identify and define "at risk students"?

How does the administration share information with SROs about "at risk students"?

Should students feel that school is one of the safest places they can be?

How can others show support for the student, as well as they SRO?

What is "fair" regarding this incident?

Carla Shedd is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and African American Studies at Columbia University. Her research and teaching interests focus on: crime and criminal justice; race and ethnicity; law and society; social inequality; and urban sociology. Shedd’s first book, Unequal City: Race, Schools, and Perceptions of Injustice (Russell Sage, Fall 2015) focuses on the city of Chicago. Centrally, the book examines the two institutions that prominently shape the lives of urban youth: the public school system and the criminal justice system. It also highlights the racially stratified social and physical terrain youth traverse between home and school.

Raul A. Reyesis an attorney, journalist, and television commentator in New York City. A third-generation Mexican-American, he writes frequently on issues affecting the Latino community. Reyes is a member of the Board of Contributors of USA Today as well as a contributor to The TODAY Show, NBC Nightly News, Hardball, CNN, MSNBC, HLN, Current TV, HuffPost Live, BBC, NPR, SiriusXM, and Fox News Radio

Francine Sherman is Director of the Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project at Boston College Law School and author of : “Juvenile Justice: Advancing Research, Policy and Practice”. The book examines juvenile justice issues from multiple perspectives, including health issues, social welfare issues and detention issues.

Gregory Thomas is the President of The National President of Black Law Enforcement Executive (NOBLE) and Senior Executive for Law Enforcement Operations at the Office of the Kings County District Attorney in Brooklyn, New York. GregoryThomas was the Deputy Director of Planning and Response at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Executive Director of the Office of School Safety and Planning, New York City Department of Education (DOE), Brooklyn, N.Y. on September 11, 2001.

“Safety and security don’t just happen; they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear.”~ Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa